Betta's 2.5 Gallon Tank

Noticed that Oscar's blue scales are becoming more of a "green" glint. Makes him much more unique lol!

The Anubias has started to split off into yet another new leaf. If it keeps this up I may have to actually propagate it and then move the new plant somewhere further down the rock or something.

 

Fun fact: Large snails enjoy uprooting S. Repens.

I just watched my favorite ramshorn snail curl up on a piece of S. Repens and more or less pull it out of the sand. Grr!!

I love this plant, but this is the most frustrated I've ever been at an organism that lives in an aquarium lol

 

When I click on this thread I panic because I think you mean an oscar fish, only to realize that oscar is a betta.

 

Sad but...

 

I absolutely love that you named him Oscar...

 

I gotta change the thread's name!

Yeah, it's pretty sad lol. Eh, I love the plant and the snail. Neither the MTS nor the Ramshorns have caused any population issues yet. There are quite a few in there, but it seems to be limited by how much I feed. So I'm not too worried about their population.

I'm concerned about just how hardy MTS snails are though... I put one into my Saltwater tank... and it's alive!!! 5 days later!

There... that change should help things out lol

 

Please don't change the name...I really do find it funny to count up how many people freak out about Oscar's 2.5 gal. and you know only like 10% of people who do actually comment...

Nerites can live in saltwater too, so maybe it's okay?

 

Well, MTS do really well in brackish tanks. I've just never heard of them in marine tanks... and since I've got about 200 of them (not really) I decided that I'd test if they could lol.

So far so good! I think the change in Oscar's color is due partially to a diet change (he get's bloodworms on Mon, Tues, Thur, Sat, Sun, and then a pea on Fri) and also the bulb on my Saltwater tank. The blue light spills over a bit into the 2.5 gallon, so I'm thinking that's part of it.

 

Haven't done a param update in a while, so here goes!

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0-5, depending on the time of day (the plants use it all up by the end of the lighting period)
PH: 7.8

And a pic to top it all off:
- the tank, with two clumps of S. Repens floating
- oscar's neighbor tank

 

Nice! Maybe the roots will grow a little while it floats...

Is that a penn Plax in the jar? I like mine

 

That's actually the Top Fin 10 gallon internal.

I picked it up for like $3, and it's done a good job so far.

 

I ended up taking the java moss out of this tank and adding it to my RCS tank, as I felt that it was just messy.

I've finally managed to get the S. Repens to stay put, and I'm hoping that they'll spread pretty quickly. I put a root tab under the big bunch on the left.

 

Pics!


I'm actually really, really happy with how this tank turned out. We're around a month and a half in, and the algae is almost 100% gone, I have a GREAT clean up crew, and a happy betta.

One day, I'd love to upgrade this tank to a 10. But for now, I feel like I've got it set up to my liking.

The only things I know that I'll be actively changing in this tank soon is I'm planning on propogating the Anubias and adding it somewhere else in the tank, and I'm considering trimming back the swords, as they're crowing out the Anubias and the center of the tank.

Thoughts?

 

I cut the Anubias in half yesterday, and both pieces have started to grow new leaves already. Funny how fast they manage to repair. Other than that, not too much change. I may try a new rockscape later, but I'm not sure how I'd fit the plants and rock in there... I'll figure it out.

 

Today is WC day, gonna replant some more S. Repens and maybe try to put it all in the back left corner that get's less flow.

Removed the Anubias until the roots grow out.

 

So Oscar's doing fine. He's getting a 100% WC this weekend, so I'll post an after pic when I get that done.

The S. Repens have finally settled in and thrown off a few runners, so I'm happy about that. They've really filled in, and look a bit like shrubs in my tank. Just can't wait till they spread across the sandbed.

The Swords have THRIVED since I stopped messing with the tank day in and day out. They pearl pretty heavily, and have gotten big enough to almost reach eachother across the tank. So I see a trimming in order pretty soon.

The snail population is still under control. It's gradually growing, but they're mostly MTS and honestly, they don't bother me. They mostly come out at night, so whatever. They're impressively hardy though; I've got one in a Saltwater tank!

I'd eventually love to try moving this into a 5.5 or a 10 gallon tank, and try a PAR 38 led bulb. They're very powerful, and I think that a PAR 38 would be perfect for a CO2-injected, ferted nano.

 

Nice to hear from you and glad the tank is doing well!

 

Thanks!

I haven't had a nitrate reading in a few weeks. No Ammonia or Nitrite either, and this is with a new test kit. I think maybe the low bioload has been more or less completely taken care of by the plants in the system

 

I have one like that too

 

How's it going? Haven't seen you in a while!

 

It's been going pretty well. I've been pretty busy, so not too much time for tanks, much less posting about them on forums

The tank is still showing 0/0/0, and Oscar is doing well. The swords have outgrown the tank, with their leaves sticking out of the water. The S. Repens desperately need to be replanted and organized, but I haven't had the time or energy. Once school lets out, I'll definitely be do 100% WC's on all of my tanks and catching up on maintenance.

 

So, I haven't posted in a while due to a family issue that forced me to travel out of state. Pretty much left my tanks in the hands of my neighbors.

Believe it or not, the betta tank fared a bit worse than my reef tank did. There are dead plants, algae and snails everywhere, not to mention Oscar was FAT. They had been overfeeding, so the tank just flopped.

I think everything survived though, and that I can save the plants. The swords look rough, mainly due to a lack of trimming. The S. Repens looks pretty full if you can get past the algae all over them. Same goes for everything else in the tank.

The MTS population did explode, so I'm hoping with a reduced lighting schedule and spot-feeding they'll start to subside a bit.

I'm going to be rescaping this tank eventually, with hopefully a much more "full" look.

Somehow, the water tested 0/0/10 with no water change in a few months, so that bodes well. Hopefully I'll get it straightened out soon.

 

Glad you're back. Hopefully it's not too bad! Hope the family issue wasn't bad either.

 

There was an injury in Missouri. Don't really know them all that well, so it wasn't too awful bad for me.

I did a 75% WC yesterday, and scrubbed all the algae off the glass. Still looks pretty rough.

 

Doesn't look bad at all! The plants are doing great!

 

Thanks!

The plants do look a bit better now that I've cleared the algae off of them the best I could. The main issues I'm having right now is a bit of greenwater (again, probably due to the lack of WCs) and the huge amount of snails (overfeeding? They didn't explode till I left, so I'm not sure on this one).

Oscar himself seems to be doing great. He's still active and eating. My main concerns are the algae issues and the snail problem, both of which I hope resolve themselves in time.

 

Wayyy late on updates!

The tank is still going, although it's not as pretty as it once was. I've let it do it's own thing other than general maintenance (PWC's, water tests, feedings) and its gotten overgrown.

That being said, I think everything is doing pretty well. The swords have some dead spots, but the new leaves that grow in are consistently healthy and green. I've added a root tab under each one of them, as the last one seems to be completely dissolved.

The S. Repens exploded! It didn't spread across the tank like I wanted, but the plants themselves are now 1.5-2 in. tall and lush. Not what I was going for, but a welcome addition.

There's Java Moss pretty much everywhere at this point. In the sand, on the glass, on the rock... not much, but it rooted really well to the point that it'll take a full day of cleaning to get it all off, which I simply don't have the time for right now.

Snails are still running rampant, but I've been plucking them out and throwing them into my pest plant jars and they're no worse for wear.

Oscar himself is doing well. He is a bit skinnier than he was (I stopped feeding so much, and switched to a meatier diet) and he seems a bit more active and less withdrawn. The tank isn't pleasing to the eye if you're a neatophobe, but I guess he's king of his own little jungle!

 

. Hey there! I would love to see a photo of Oscar's jungle!

 

I like Oscars name....Well cuz its Oscar

 

So today was the day I took the plunge and did a full WC, and it took me around 4 hours. I STILL didn't get all the Java Moss out! I'm not sure it's even Java Moss, I didn't think it was supposed to be invasive.

But, some bad news. I noticed yesterday that Oscar was swimming head-up, tail-down, and my first thought was swim bladder. I fed a pea, and hoped that all would be well. This morning, everything is the same, before and after the WC. He's still acting fine, very aggressive (he bit my hand when I had it in the tank earlier), very active, inquisitive, and hungry. But, he's still got a bent spine and looks like he's struggling to move through the water, even without a current. Any ideas?

 

Been a long while since I updated this, due to life and general laziness. But, all is well.

I'm not sure what exactly Oscar ended up having, but after a week of pea feedings and water changes, he was fine, although he's never quite been as active since, although I thought maybe it might have to do with the lower tank temp or possibly something to do with age.

The Java Moss I got definitely wasn't Java. I'm suspecting that it was some sort of string algae, because I can take all of it out of my tank, and it'll be right back in huge clumps within a week. It got bad enough I did a full tear-down, replaced my sand and my rock, and did an alcohol dip on all of my plants. Also been dosing much less, and have reduced lighting to just 5-6 hours a day. But, nothing has seemed to slow it down.

The S. Repens was almost wiped out by it, but I managed to fence off a few stems of it with some media bags I had. That saved it, and it's doing fine now. Same goes for both Swords. They had lost most of their leaves, until I netted them both. They've begun to grow back as well.

There's also another type of algae in the tank - I think its true Freshwater hair algae, due to its thick, fluffy, clumpy appearance. It looks much like the hair algae in my saltwater tank, although I've only seen a bit of it here and there, and it hasn't been a problem so far.

Tank params have been pretty normal:
Ammonia - 0 PPM
Nitrite - 0 PPM
Nitrate - 0-5 PPM
Phosphate - 0-5 PPM
Temp- 76F

I've been spot-treating any new stuff I find with peroxide and alcohol, and that seems to kill it nearly instantly. But, its back within a few days. Suggestions?

Also worth noting that I've been going filterless since December. The algae actually ended up killing the motor in my filter, due to it spilling into the propeller without me realizing it. I ordered another filter, but after about a week of going filterless, I cancelled my order. All tank parameters were fine, and diatoms had actually decreased as well. Oscar also seems to enjoy the lack of flow, and is more active without it.

 

Glad to hear he pulled through. Interesting about the filterless part. Do you just have a bunch of plants? Do you have a full tank shot? Haven’t seen it in a while.
Also sorry I missed the post before. I don’t remember ever seeing it.

 

Oh, no problem lol.

I'm letting the tank settle down after the WC for a few hours before I take any pics, but I'll upload one in a few hours.

I have all the plants I've always had, plus the "Java Moss" and a variety of S. Repens that I got a few months back. With the lower bioload of just a betta and some (well, many) snails, the plants and weekly WC's seem to take care of any ammonia buildup.

 

Full tank:

Oscar hiding from me:

 

Btw I have an Oscar now too. I keep him with angels and rummynose tetras...

 

Beautiful Pleco! I'd like to have a tank big enough to keep one again sometime. They're always a ton of fun to keep, with their quirks

 

So, Oscar died at some point while I was on a college visit. The heater I was using burst in the tank, so almost everything in there died.

I took the plants out (most of them seemed okay) and rinsed them in dechlorinated water a few times, trimmed off the dead bits, and threw them into my 2 gallon jar. I did the same with the two living ramshorns that I found, so I'm hoping they'll all make it. So far so good, but they've only been in there for about 6 hours.

So, RIP Oscar. Always sucks to lose one, but at least I managed to salvage some of his tank. That tank is now becoming my reef tank, and the jar I was using for that is becoming my planted tank, just due to space requirements and such. Won't be getting another betta for it, but may look into some shrimp as soon as I figure out if things in there are okay or not.

Thanks for following the thread! I'll probably end up making a new one for the jar at some point.

 

I’m sorry you lost him! And the equipment malfunction!
RIP Oscar the betta

 

I’m sorry you lost him! And the equipment malfunction!
RIP Oscar the betta

Thanks!

Yeah, it's sorta what I get for using one of the cheap Petsmart heaters for an extended period of time.